Psalm 127 If you want to be successful in life, you will have to work hard. Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his book, Outliers: The Story of Success, about the ten thousand hour rule. This rule states that talent is important but not as important as practice and preparation. He points out that the Beatles (amazingly,…
Psalm 126 On August 15, 1945, my father was on his US Navy ship in Leyte Gulf in the Philippines, one of thousands of ships assembled for the scheduled invasion of Japan on November 1. He had just celebrated his 24th birthday two weeks earlier and was the second oldest on his ship of 75…
Psalm 124 I have specific memories of particularly difficult times in my life. I have never experienced the horrors of war or famine or natural disasters, but nevertheless, the emotional stress I have experienced in certain times of my life has been intense. I remember a time in seminary when I was completely overwhelmed. I…
Psalm 123 Some of you may be familiar with the British television show, Downton Abbey. It centers on the aristocratic Crawley family who rule Downton Abbey as the Earl and Countess of Grantham. The show takes place in the years 1912 up to the early 1920s. A country home like the one in the show…
Psalm 121 On Christmas morning in 2005, when the church used to meet in Centre Ville, Annie and I were walking to the Christmas Day service when we were mugged. This was when Eid Al-Kabir, the big feast when everyone sacrifices a lamb, was celebrated on January 10, so the feast was two weeks away….